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Gender and Sexuality

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There have been a number of women in Baha'i history who have provided inspiration and become role models for Baha'i women today. The two most important have been Tahirih (1819-1850), the disciple of the Bab, and Bahiyyih Khanum (1846-1932), the daughter of Baha'u'llah, who played an important role during the periods of the leadership of Baha'u'llah, 'Abdu'l-Baha, and Shoghi Effendi. Also of importance have been such individuals as Martha Root (1872-1939), the foremost Baha'i travelling teacher of the period of Shoghi Effendi's leadership; Corrine True (1861-1961), who was the main driving force behind the construction of the first Baha'i House of Worship in the West (at Wilmette, near Chicago); and Ruhiyyih Khanum (Rabbani, 1910-2000), the wife of Shoghi Effendi, who traveled extensively teaching the Baha'i Faith.

Promoting the social role of women is a central social teaching of the Baha'i Faith. Even as early as the late 19th century, the Baha'i community had distinguished itself to outsiders as being concerned to promote the equality of women and men. In his public addresses in North America and Europe in 1911-13, 'Abdu'l-Baha repeatedly returned to this theme and numbered it among the key teachings of Baha'u'llah.

There are, however, a number of aspects to this issue. The Baha'i teachings emphasize the spiritual equality of women and men and, in fact, state that God does not consider gender in looking at human beings. They state that as long as women are prevented from playing a full role in society, whether because of legal impediments or lack of education, men will also not make the progress that they could make. Furthermore, the promotion of the social role of women will advance the cause of world peace, since women are less likely to want to see their sons go to war.

There are, however, certain biological factors that mean that there cannot be complete identity of social roles. The Baha'i teachings assume that the mother is more likely to want to stay at home while her children are in infancy, while the father is more likely to work to support the family. If however, a particular family decides on different roles, that is also acceptable.

There are some sexual differences in the provisions of the Baha'i teachings and laws. For example, the female is favored in education—if a family only has the ability to educate one of their children, they should educate the girl in preference to the boy because the girl is generally the first educator of the next generation. Furthermore, 'Abdu'l-Baha stated that "The woman has greater moral courage than the man; she has also special gifts which enable her to govern in moments of danger and crisis." On the other hand, membership of the Universal House of Justice is confined to men. No explanation is given for this latter point—only the statement that the reason for it will become apparent in the future.